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Coin and Paper Money Collecting/1968 penny with freemason symbol on front

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Expert: - 8/30/2009


Question
 Hi my name is chris and i have a penny that i found in my change jar. It is a 1968 penny with a freemason symbol on lincolns chest. It is raised off his chest not indented. Can you tell me anything about this. I have never seen anything like it.

Answer
Hi Chris,
There are various such pennies, which are privately made outside the mint. The more common ones have a head of JFK or Lincoln stamped in the field next to to the left or right of the Lincoln portrait. Here is a link to one such item:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1973-UNC-LINCOLN-KENNEDY-PENNY-CENT-COINCIDENCES_W0QQitemZ29...

The Masonic one is a little more unusual and probably more collectible, since there are plenty of collectors for Freemason related items. It's probably worth just a couple of dollars, which is not bad considering the 1 cent face value.

Thanks for the question! =)

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Dmitry Livshits

Expertise

My specialty is world coins from the 18th to 20th centuries, primarily non-US foreign coins and related areas such as errors and exonumia (tokens, medals, etc.). I can answer questions relating to identification, grading, selling, preservation and evaluation of such items. In addition to catalog value, I can give you the practical market value and trends for specific types of coins. I will also take questions regarding counterfeits (both modern and antique) and on how to identify them. I am NOT knowledgeable in paper money/banknotes, ancient or "shipwreck" coins. Thank you.

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Collector of world coins since early childhood. Access to a variety of auction records and reference material. You can also find me on Facebook.

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A.S. in Psychology (2006), B.A. in Forensic Psychology (2008), M.A. in Forensic Psychology (2011).

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